The invention relates to improvements in copying machines in general, and more particularly to improvements in copying machines, such as photographic roll copiers, wherein webs of photosensitive material (such as unexposed and exposed photographic paper) are confined in mobile containers of the type known as cassettes. Copying machines of such character are described and shown, for example, in commonly owned U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,469,291 and 4,853,742 to which reference may be had, if necessary.
German Pat. No. 25 18 670 discloses a photographic roll copying machine wherein a cassette which contains a supply of unexposed photographic web material (such as photographic paper) must be raised by a motor-driven elevator from a first level to a second level so that its outlet for the web of photosensitive material is moved into register with the inlet of a copying unit wherein images of negatives are projected onto successive frames of web material. The thus exposed web material is admitted into a second cassette which can be transported to a further station, e.g., to a station where the exposed web material is subdivided into prints and the prints are introduced into customer envelopes, together with the respective negatives, for shipment or delivery back to dealers or directly to customers. A drawback of the machine which is described and shown in the German patent is its cost which is attributable, to a considerable extent, to the need for a motorized elevator. Moreover, the patented copying machine occupies a large amount of floor space and the exchange of cassettes takes up long intervals of time because the elevator must be operated at a relatively low speed for safety reasons. Therefore, the expenditures which are involved in connection with the purchase and maintenance of the patented machine are warranted only in large photographic developing laboratories but not in connection with medium priced and low priced roll copiers and like machines, especially low- and medium-priced machines which should be capable of processing a variety of photosensitive materials including larger and smaller rolls of wide, medium wide or narrow webs of photographic paper or the like.